Iowa Farmers Make Record Number of Pesticide Misuse Claims

About three-fourths of Shane Susie’s 80-acre soybean field was damaged after getting hit with dicamba that drifted over his crops from neighboring fields. writes Donnelle Eller on DesMoinesRegister.com.

The herbicide also savaged his family’s trees, flowers and vegetable patch.

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“We’re not eating anything out of it this year,” said the 30-year-old who farms near Kingsley in northwest Iowa.

He estimates his soybean damage losses at $15,000. With drought worries and low corn and soybean prices, “it will be a tough year.” he said. “It makes a challenging year more challenging.”

Susie and other Midwest farmers have been drawn into a national debate swirling around whether new dicamba versions are safe for growers to use.

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ADAMA Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

Nationally, 2,242 farmers say dicamba has damaged an estimated 3.1 million acres, a University of Missouri report shows.

Iowa ag leaders are investigating a record 258 crop damage reports from pesticide misuse this year. About 100 complaints on 150,000 acres are tied to dicamba.

Read more at DesMoinesRegiser.com.

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